Lets start by saying I do know a bit about wiggleys… Electric currents, are to some of us, wiggleys. I have studied wiggleys quite a bit and even have a City and Guilds Full Tech in Telecom wiggleys British Telecom were in fact going to pay me to go to university, in the day, to study and get a degree in wigglyology. That was until I found that there were two types of wiggleys real ones and theoretical! In the real world there are things called the fringe effect but in the theoretical world these do not exist. In their place are imaginary things like spot charges. Keep with me I will get on to our travels….. promise.
A little corrosion…
Being a practical person I couldn’t hack this and banged out, I was not going to sell my soul. BT were not happy and called me top a meeting….with NO coffee.
Anyway back to the trip. As we sat at EuroTunnel in the queue waiting to be called forward I turned off the engine and removed the key. The engine kept on going! Now the motorhome is a Mercedes Hymer. Both renowned for quality and extras. However I felt this was not one they had intended. I found that if I had the side lights on and brake pedal pressed the engine would continue running after I had removed they key, until I took my foot off the brake! Still we managed to board the train and make the crossing OK. Once on French soil I found the cruise control was not working!
It was at this point I had a ‘light bulb’ moment and noticed the offside brake light was permanently on…. and remembered that about a year ago I had an issue with a dickie earth on the brake lights.
So the next morning with a screw driver and a piece of emery cloth I, again, saved the world. Well saved a good amount of Euros by fixing it my self.
We got away to the Caravan and Camping Club site near Devizes for Easter and it was ideal. Not only did we manage to get away with friends but it was a great way to shake the van down for our Spanish trip at the end of April.
Nice little pitch
The site backs onto the Kennet and Avon Canal which offers a couple of good walks, via pubs of course.
Outside the site are bus stops for routes inot Devizes or Bath. As you would expect the site is clean and tidy with quite a few hardstanding.
Today was always going to be a day of shopping. We started off at the Complexe D’Artisanat in Rue de la Kasbah. This is one of the few places in Morocco that you don’t barter. The prices are fixed and for some that is a real help. Personally I love a good bit of barter banter. Leaving surprisingly empty handed we headed to, via a coffee stop of course, to the Ensemble Artisanal on Avenue Mohammed V.
On the way to work
This is where June had seen a hat before and today was decision day. Having watched how the hats are made a purchase was completed.
The hat maker
From there we headed off to the Photographic museum and back to their roof top restaurant. Today was so much clearer than our last visit so much so we could easily see the beautiful snow covered High Atlas to the south..
In the afternoon we managed to tick all off the shopping list but were still on the look out for a pair of ear rings to match the neckless June bought on the `kasbah trip. One of the guys in the souks, on hearing what we were looking for, took us for a hike (probably a bit longer than we needed) to one of his mates. He didn’t have what we were looking for so he took a neckless apart to make a pair. Not sure we would get that level of service in the UK.
During one of todays wanders through the main square we saw this a guy wearing pink wings and selling toys. So the next time you think your job could be better just remember the photo of this lad.
Today was another day to just wander around this glorious city. We started off by heading towards Jewish quarter. We dropped by Dar Si Siad which is former palace / royal house that now houses Moroccan arts. The building itself is along the same theme inside as the Kasbah at Telouet and the Alahambra with ornate stucco that the crafts men carve while still wet. The design are very detailed and must take an age to complete.
Dar-Si-Sai
After a quick coffee we wandered around the old Jewish Section, While trying to find the entrance to the El Badi Palace we bumped into Mustapha, a 19 year old who is studying to become a motor mechanic. He started to take us to the palace when we realised that it would closed in a shortwhile. Mustapah then offered us tea at his house. We took him up on the offer and although the tea wasn’t the best we have experienced but it was a little different. We never did get to see the view of the palace from his house that we were told was ‘very very good’. We dropped him a few Dirham for his time and headed off to the Kasbah Cafe, which was nearby, for lunch.
Street-Market
It was only a short walk…well about 3 km, to our next venue. The Jardin Menara. We had seen a few photos of the lake there with the High Atlas in the distance. Ever the keen photographers we aimed to recreate this image. Well the view of the snow covered mountains was stunning but sadly the lake was a little choppy to get the reflections we had hoped for.
Jardin-MenaraJemaa El Fna
Back to the main square for a bit of people watching while we drank mint tea… well this time our eyes were caught by a couple of 5 or 6 years olds who were busy trying to sell cakes. There clearly was a bit of a turf war between them and it was a little sad to see young children, the same age as my grandchildren, having their childhood stolen.
The Cake Seller
Mint Tea in Jamaa El Fna
This evening we returned to the square to eat at stall 118. Abdul recognised us straight away. The guys who are enticing potential customers to pick thier stall are all real characters with all the patter and banter. If you join in the whole experience is more enjoyable and they really don’t mind if you say no. It is a very similar scene to that of parts of France, Spain and Greece….but with more humour and fun.
Today was a later start… We updated yesterday’s trip on the blog and then just bimbled into town
Jemaa El Fna often has crowds of folk just watching performersOnly four on this one
A lunch at the main square was followed by a wander around the parks.
Koutoubia Mosque
We managed to grab another geocache and a coffee…. it was all very slow and full of people watching.
Evening time took us back into Jemaa El Fna to eat at another stall. We had been told to try number 14. Walking past it was full of locals, always a good sign and it didn’t dissapoint. As we left 14 a guy from stall 118 started chatting up June. Result is that we will probably go there tomorrow night.
Walking back through the souks, where some were totally deserted, it struck me that we never felt unsafe, not once and having adopted the plan of turn left, turn right, turn left, turn right, etc we actually got back to the riad without getting lost!
An early start today as we were heading over the a High Atlas and back again in a day; luckily we were not driving but were able to book a car and driver for the day at a very reasonable rate. Younes from Ecovoyages Marrakech arrived promptly and by 7.30am we were clear of the city traffic and heading towards the mountains. A quick stop for coffee after a couple of hours before we hit the Tizi-n-Tichka pass, the highest pass over the High Atlas.
The High Atlas
Tizi-n-Tichka Pass
Our first destination was Kasbah Telouet and a real gem of a place and well worth the long drive along a road which in parts lacks any Tarmac. At first the place looked nothing more than a pile of ruins (the whole site is actually three kasbahs in various stages of decay) but there was a surprise awaiting in the form of four rooms almost exactly as they were the Kasbah was built in the 19th century. Our guide Rasheed was very knowledgeable and well worth his tip as he explained the history of the site. The family who lived here made their fortunes from the caravans passing through from the south to Marrakech, exchanging salt for gold and sugar for marble.
Telouet Kasbah
Inside the Telouet Kasbah
Inside the Telouet Kasbah
From there we continued along the same road following the Oued Mellah (literally translated as river of salt. Lesson learned today was that Morocco had salt mines!) and on to Ait Benhaddou whose claim to fame is to have appeared in numerous Hollywood films: Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth and Gladiator but to name a few. We didn’t have a guide, despite their best efforts for us to hire them, and were happy to wander around the place on our own.
Ait Benhaddou
Ait Benhaddou
Ait Benhaddou
People still live in the kasbahs which make up the area and to get to the highest point you have to run the gauntlet of several shop owners trying to entice you to view their wares. We did give in on the way back down and took tea with Hachim whilst negotiating on the price of a silver necklace and an “antique” wooden spoon….. Bob retained his reputation of bartering like a Berber and we were all happy in the end!
Hachim
Then began the long drive home and this is where the 20,000 photos comes in. Having got a new toy after a last trip here (thank you Colin!), Bob had attached his GoPro to the outside of the vehicle and recorded time lapse photos of the routes we were taking. The plan was now to record the journey back over the Tizi-n-Tichka pass. The camera stayed in place but we won’t be able to post the short video until getting home to the UK.
Sunset
The long day ended with a spectacular view of the sunset in the mountains and home to Jamila’s wonderful cooking…
Having visited most of the major sites in a Marrakech during previous visits, today we decided just to walk and see where we ended up whilst heading generally towards the east of the city. Things didn’t quite go to plan when we got lost in the souks but as there always seems to be a sign pointing towards the main square we followed one of them to get our bearings and start again! This time we got it right (eventually…) and arrived at the Museum of Marrakech. Not the largest museum we’ve been to but being located in a restored palace makes it worth a visit.
The Marrakech Museum
The Marrakech Museum
From there it was a very short walk to the Medersa Ben Youssef (combined admission with the museum of 60Dh each – under £5 at today’s rate) which was a former religious school. To quote from our guidebook “It displays all the fine decorative detailing that characterises what was the golden age of Moroccan architecture.” and that pretty much sums it up! If you like architecture head here. Point to note here, we were approached by a young man who was trying to get us to visit the tanneries and told us that the Medersa was closed due to a religious holiday – it wasn’t!
Ben Youssef Medersa
Ben Youssef Medersa
Ben Youssef Medersa
A lot of walking usually involves geocaching for us, and although there are not too many caches in Morocco, we were not too far from one so it was off down the alleyways in search of it. The Moroccans are born traders and (sorry, spoiler alert) what better way of getting someone into your shop than by putting the cache there! Worth pointing out though that there was no pressure for us to buy anything and we had a very friendly chat with the shop owner.
Leather in the street
As we mentioned we were off the main tourist track today so our next stop was the Maison de la Photographie de Marrakech, which houses a collection of photographs of early 20th century Moroccan life. Entry was 40Dh (£2.80 ish) but we can visit as often as we like which given the great little cafe on the roof terrace we will probably take advantage of!
The view from the cafe at Maison de la Photographie
Berber Omelette
Being on the east side of the city and despite what we told the young man earlier, we had always intended to visit the tanneries. We were approached by a “guide” who offered to show us around and despite being a little sceptics it was actually quite interesting! However having visited the tanneries at Fez, the ones in Marrakech were a little disappointing and of course the visit ended up in a shop which sold a variety of leather goods.
In desperate need of coffee (no surprise there!) we made our way back to the main square and one of the many roof terraces providing the best places just to sit and watch the world go by. Feeling suitably refreshed it was time to head back home but managed to take the wrong turn again which also happened when we came back in for dinner and then on the way back again….. By the end of the week we’ll have it all worked out…..we hope!
Having stopped at the Gatwick Hilton, with no free wifi in the room I may add, it was an early start to Marrakech taking off at 8.00. Made good time though arriving at 10.50, ahead of schedule.
Through passport control and onto Dar Romarra, the Riad we had used for a long weekend in October. We felt that with June’s arm recovering we needed a little haven in a mad mad city….
At 14 C it was a little cooler than last time….but warmer than the freezing UK we had left behind.
Dar Rocmarra
After a bit of a kip we wandered through the souks to the main square, Jamaa El Fna. It was far busier than October and a real hive of activity.
A quick coffee on a roof top terrace gave Bob a chance for a bit of timelapse ( will be posted once we get home). Then down to the food stalls. We were bombarded with requests to eat here and here….. they all knew too much about our TV adverts. Quotes like, ‘ this isn’t just any food…it’s Marks and Spencers food’ and ‘cheaper than Morrisons’ were everywhere. One of the guys thought from something June had said she was from Scotland and then started quoting East Enders. He knew more about the story line than either of us.
It is somewhere that June has always wanted to go to and, with the announcement that the US embargo may be removed, now seemed a good time. However we wanted something a little different so went to Explore and booked a trip that involves a bit of cycling, not that much but something a little different!
Having just checked my Blogger page I found that it had several photos missing. Apparently it is something to do with moving to G+. Does anyone really use that at all… ?
Now photos, for us, are a big part of our blogs… Mainly because my words cannot describe adequately the stunning views we get to see. This blog hosted on Blogger was one we put up in the very early days of our travels and is of our first Moroccan trip. In a way it comes at a good time. I can now put the text and photos in chronological order. One of the issues I have with our travel blogs is that the last day is at the top. I will make this trip a page on its own I think and see how it goes…
Having been to Morocco twice before we were both really looking forward to returning with our friends Sarah and Colin. We had found a Riad called Dar Rocmarra in the Marrakech Medina that had some brilliant comments on Trip Advisor and ticked a lot of boxes for us.
Leaving early doors on Thursday with Easy Jet we arrived at Marrakesh just after 10.00 where transport booked via the Riad was patiently waiting after a few more minutes than we expected in passport control. Being British we took part in an orderly queue while those around us jumped barriers, pushed in and generally tried to get in before us.
As we were driven to the Riad we realised that the driving had not changed since we were last here in May 2013. It is manic. Having said that though everyone seems to get along with each other, giving way seems to be a natural way of life. Yes the horns are sounded but I really got the impression they were not meant in anger. More of a ‘watch out mate’ than a ‘get out of my way’.
The driver got us as close as possible and after a few minutes walk along narrow alley ways we arrived at Dar Rocmarra 29 Derb el Halfaoui.
Once inside we realised we had hit a real gem and the reviews were right. It was beautiful! We had been in touch with Jamilla, who manages the day to day running of the riad as well as cooking the wonderful food, before we arrived and before lunch she gave us a brief about locations of places we may like to visit and offered to book a driver and car for any days trips we wanted.
Our Riad
After catching up on sleep we walked into the center. The souks, as we had experienced previously, were an assault on all senses…. the smells, the colours and the noise are very special to us. Some feel unsafe, but I have to say, I feel as safe in Morocco as I do in London, and like in any big city with lots of people, it’s just a case of keeping your eyes open and wits about you. Having had little sleep the previous night and a good lunch when we arrived, we found a small cafe with a rooftop terrace overlooking Jamma El Fna for a light meal before heading home for an early night.
Friday started with a breakfast on the roof… and then off to Cascades d’Ouzoud Waterfalls. Jamilla arranged a car and driver for the day at about £103 all in for the 4 of us. Although we could have booked an organised tour, at least this way we had total control over where and when we stopped. On the way we went through the town of Ait Taguella where there was a festival going on in a field next to the road. There were groups of horsemen in traditional clothing riding from one end of the field to the other while firing rifles in the air. It was a really stunning event to stumble on.
Moussem–festival Ait Taguella
On to the beautiful Cascades d’Ouzoud. There is a large car park at the top and as you walk towards them you can either take to the right of the buildings and go to the top or to the left and walk down the lanes past the stalls to the bottom. There are numerous places to eat…the more expensive ones have direct views of the falls (although by expensive we mean around £10 a head for a 3 course set meal!) . The falls stunning, yes I know that I use that a lot but have run out of superlatives. Have a look at our Morocco 2014 album to see more…
Cascades d’Ouzoud
Saturday was a bimble around Marrakech sort of day. We love the souks, the smells, colours and sounds are really unique. I know some folk find this environment threatening or uncomfortable but I think the art is to accept that the traders do not mind you not buying or saying no. Ultimately you have control of your wallet and if you buy something, does it really matter that much if you find it cheaper on another stall. I guess you were happy with the price or you wouldn’t have bought it. I feel no more concerned in Marrakech than I do in some parts of London. I enjoy the banter and bartering. Many times have I walked away to the stall holder saying ‘good bye my friend. You are a good man and I like your smile’ But that is me at 6’4″…height always an advantage I feel 🙂
Having said all that we did have a bit of a ‘do’. Colin had a GoPro….more about that later, and wanted a few photos of the snakes in the main square. The problem was we didn’t agree a price before…top tip always agree a price…for everything 🙂 After some photos the guys asked for £20!! They were never going to get that much.. They were offered £10 and refused…after a few words they were given about a fiver and off we walked .
Jamma El Fna
In the evening we decide to eat at one of the many stalls in Jamma El Fna, the main square. The previous night we had wandered through and one of the stall owners had approached us saying ‘ One Zero Zero always the hero’ referring to the stall number. Well we had to find that one didn’t we? The main square is somewhere Bob had always wanted to eat. Just feeling that it would be good to absorb some of the hustle and bustle. Hannin, our waiter, suggested we had a Meze type selection and of course the obligatory photo at the end. We had noticed young lads firing a small device into the air that gave off a blue light as it drifted down. These were visible all above the square… It was a toy that Bob didn’t have and was determined to get. As we walked through the square a couple of boys offered these for sale. Starting at 20 Dhirham he eventually got one for 5 (about 40p) He was happy.
Stall 100
Sunday was a visit to Essaouira which is on the coast and very Mediterranean in appearance. Again Jamilla arranged a driver and car for the day for about £107 this time. The last time we drove from Marrakesh to Essaouira in 2009 the road was under major repair and it took us ages in the motorhome, traveling at no more that 40mph for most of the way and at 10mph for a very long section. Drive times in Morocco always seem a little longer that here in the UK, mainly due to the road conditions, speed limits and cops with speed cameras. On the whole the roads are OK but the speed limits are often lower that you would get in the UK. There seemed to be, on this trip, a huge increase police checks, the more cynical might note how negotiable the fines are and wonder how much reaches official police coffers….. Some with a speed camera, often on a tripod and others where there are ‘stingers (a spiked device across half the road that can be pulled covering the whole road to stop vehicles that didn’t fancy being checked).
The harbour area of Essaouira was as beautiful as the last time we visited.
Essaouira
Essaouira
After lunch we wandered the lanes and then out to the beach. It can be very windy here, albeit not on this visit, and often the beach is full of surfers kite flyers and the like.
Essaouira
Our flight back was late Monday afternoon so we had plenty of time to visit Majorelle Gardens and more. The gardens are beautiful and an oasis of calm in the madness that is Marrakesh.
Majorelle Gardens
Leaving the gardens we grabbed a Caleche, horse and trap and were taken for spin around the city. We turned down the offer of visiting a pharmacy as we had experienced watching a demonstration before and then being put through the sales pitch. I think we still have some magic potions left over from that visit despite Bob using them daily to maintain his youth.
Back in Jamma El Fna the girls needed to get some cash while the boys met a young lad selling some packets of tissues. Through Bob’s bad French it seemed he was 10 and sold the tissues daily around the square. Bob asked why he didn’t go to school, the bank doorman smiled and said ‘this is his school’ as he pointed to Jamma El Fna. A very fair point! The lad was a real character but we found he didn’t like the ginger sweets that Bob had been carrying around all weekend. But then few did.
The Tissue Seller
It was a brilliant weekend and one that involved quite a few Selfie on a stick photos as both Colin and Bob had one! I am sure we will see more Selfie on a stick photos appearing in this blog.
Just parked up at the Grove Lock Campsite next to the Grand Union Canal. The plan this weekend is some friends will be making towards Grove Lock tomorrow on their narrow boat and we will meet them en route. We will all cruise back to Grove Lock where they will moor up. There will be a few beers downed I fear 🙂
In a few weeks, together with a few fiends we are taking part in the Prince’s Trust Palace to Palace Ultra bike ride. 90 miles from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle. This weekend was arrange to do a bit of training. Stopping at a campsite near Kingham we had the Cotswolds to play with 🙂
Stopping at a CS Pebbly Hill Nurseries, and ideal. Close to Kingham rail station allowed June to travel direct from the city after work
Two friends joined us on the Saturday for the ride out and we covered 48 miles… with a coffee stop at Broadway Tower.
Sunday was my grandson Benjie’s birthday party at the swimming pool in Witney.. This meant another 16 mile trip each way. It would have been so easy to abandon the bikes and take the motorhome but I am so glad we didn’t. The trip there seemed tougher than the trip back…maybe it was because i had been having fun in the pool with Benjie and Alfie…
Overnight, as normal, we had a little rain but by the morning this had stopped and our journey home started. There is no doubt in June or my minds we will be returning. In fact when the time is right for us to live this lifestyle permanently, about 2020, we will be bouncing from mountain range to mountain range. We both love the rugged views and even more the rugged driving.
Even the pylons are painted green.
Our aim was to stop near Reims so we could Carrefour shop. However we left picking an Aire too late. We aimed for one we had used a couple of years ago on the return from Lac Annecy but it was full. The handy app showed another nearby but when we could locate it and asked a local he shook his head saying there wasn’t one, despite there being a sign up on the wall of a house (put no parking places). We headed back to the motorway and picked a small Aire and slept well.
From there we moved on in the morning towards Calais for a bit of shopping. We found the fuel at the Auchan in Avenue Roger Salengro at least 20 cents a litre cheaper than the motorways. When you are filling up with over 80 litres that is more than enough for a #Clewleystopsforcoffee treat.
By the time we get home we will have travelled 3750 Kms, 2343 miles. Our 18 Overnight stops were around £360 (including 4 nights at campsites which accounted for about £230). The tolls were around £225 plus £23 for the Swiss Heavy Duty Tax as we are over 4 Tonnes). We used Tesco points towards the EuroTunnel and ended up paying about £30.
Update from the Motorhome parking at Citie Europe.
We have used the Motorhome parking here many times and today was the first time we have ever witnessed any suspicious activity. While cooking June saw a guy trying to get into a Hymer parked behind us and against the wooded area. Fortunately the van was locked and occupied. The guy ran off into the woods. Bob went to have a ‘look’ but he had long gone. As always security should be taken seriously as you would at home. We never leave the van unlocked or unalarmed. I have other security devices (including my big Maglite) fitted to the Motorhome and ways of monitoring it while we are away. There is kit out there folks please find it and use it, but never stop living the dream.
I write this from a beautiful Aire at almost 2200 metres and with stunning views all around. But first can I have a little rant? There are two categories of motorists I detest; apart from killers of course, they are drivers who do not thank you for lettng them through and those that drive on the hard shoulder of a motorway when there is tailback. The former I am more inclined to think maybe it was just a bad day and they forgot or were listening to little Gertrude in the back and normally they would wave and smile at me for my good deed. HOWEVER the second group I really and permanently detest. Today we spent a couple of hours in a queue on the road that leads to St Gotthard’s tunnel. No idea what the cause was as we turned off to St Gotthard’s pass before we came across the mayhem. During this time at least 10 cars of differing nationalities insisted in undertaking. Now, puts on ex-traffic cops hat, the hard shoulder accounts for about 4 times the fatalities than the other three lanes added together (I think those stats are current, if not let me know ex-traffic lads). There is a good reason for the the hard shoulder, despite some UK bean counter deciding that ‘Managed Motorways’ are the way ahead. The emergency services use them to make to the scene to save life and have been trained to do so safely… Yes I know some need the toilet and don’t have the luxury of one at the rear their vehicle, many were in fact pulling over and having a quick wee….male and female. The oiks that we witnessed today we just careless at the best. What they are implying, I think, is their day is far more important that yours and mine who wait patiently. End rant, I thank you.
Your driver for the day ladies and gents.
Maybe I should have more compassion for my fellow law breakers! Yes, we are now legal in Switzerland. Last night I discovered that our vehicle should have a Form 15.19. (Don’t forget the dot). As we are over 4 tonnes we should have purchased said form as soon as we crossed the border some three days ago…… My only excuse your honour, as feeble as it is, is that I hadn’t planned to come into Switzerland on our freestyle trip and hadn’t researched Switzerland too much.
Our dilemma was, do we just carry on and hope the rozzers don’t stop us or do we return to Italy, do a quick U turn and pretend that was our first entry. We went for the latter. We are normally reasonabley law abiding folk, and while Clewley’s luck has served me well, I wasn’t sure my IPA card could get me out of a ticket. So off we went back down the very wet valley to the border post at Luino. A few clicks later and I managed a U turn to saunter back. Having stopped that the customs point I asked for the 15.19 and was told I don’t need one as my vehicle wasn’t big enough. Not big enough? Doesn’t he know a Clewley when he sees one. Anyway I paid my 32.50 Swiss Francs and we were legal again. Hoorah!
Having stocked up with goodies we joined the motorway and you’ve heard the rest as far as that road is concerned. We never intended going through the tunnel as the St Gotthard’s pass looked far more fun. Time lapse to follow folks…
Great driving roads
Whoever Gottard is his pass is almost spectacular (saving that word for later and also we couldn’t see too much through the mist ). His pass first opened in the 13 century according to Andrew Sykes novel Crossing Europe on a bike called Reggie….great read by the way Andrew if you ever read this.
Having completed this pass in the Motorhome, poor Andrew cycled it!, and as we reached the commit moment for Furkapass (you at the back stop sniggering now!) the gear box jumped into neutral. Right on a roundabout. It took a few minutes but soon we were on our way but I could read June’s face she was a little worried it may happen again. Well relying on Clewley’s luck we continued over the aforesaid pass….I am not saying it again ’cause you’ll only laugh again.
See told you
Now Gottard must have been really pee’d off at the discovery of FP as it is truly Stunning. Not knowing where to look next there were lots of ooing and wows. Basically you just zigzag up the up to 2000 meters and then zigzag back down only to do it up one more time to the night’s stop at the top of Grimselpass. When we get back I will upload a gallery of photos for this trip but it make take a while to select those we want…
Our original destination
We were aiming for an Aire at Berghaus near Grimselpass but there is a traffic light system that regulates going up the pass and the return journey. I mistook the red light as a pass blocked so we found another spot for just £7 .
Top of Grimselpass
And finally, why is this post entitled “20 miles later”? That was the distance, as the crow flies, between last night’s and tonight’s locations. However, a swift trip to Italy, a hunt for a decent supermarket, a two hour traffic jam and a stop for lunch added up to eight hour driving day……oh to have wings!
Heavy storms overnight made the packing away of the girls tent a little damp to say the least. Still we were on the road by 10.00 and off to the supermarket so carefully plotted on TomTom. Well had it not been a Swiss holiday we would have shall we say…. Note to self, check holidays of the countries you are visiting before the food runs low. Thankfully we needed fuel so picked up the basics in a service station before heading up the valley.
First point to stop was the dam just a few clicks along the winding road. There appear to be quite a few Swiss drivers who love hugging the central white line. No matter if they have a drop on their side or a cliff…they don’t like to drive on the edge…just saying.
The car park for the dam is quite small and after waiting a few minutes for a space June noticed a few people walking towards the dam entrance from the north. Just a few hundred metres further along were several parking places with room for the Motorhome and these were free. Back at the dam, as I think I had mentioned yesterday, there is a bungee jumping platform. Sadly we didn’t have a spare 250 Swiss francs so we gave that a miss….this time. We watched a couple of lads take the jump, one of the longest in Europe. Bob now fluent in Swiss asked for a sticker and ended up with a map of the valley, but hey the map was free. Driving up this valley was just stunning. I know I use that word a lot but it was, promise. I could prove it by boring you with footage from the Road Hawk we have fitted to the front screen but I guess you would rather take my word for it. (May get some time lapse for tomorrow though as we go over the Alps).
Verzasca Damn
We stopped at Lavertezzo where there is a double arched bridge, and a geocache if you are up for it too. Parking a few hundred metres north of the bridge at 2 francs an hour or you can get the Verzasca Parking Card from info points, restaraunts, campsites and the machines with a green background. The water is so clear at Lavertezzo there is a company that does dive trips there. Well I guess if you have no coast you have to make the most of what you have.
Lavertezzo Bridge
To be honest it looked great fun and the water was very very clear. Having grabbed a geocache and managed to keep our feet dry we went back to the Motorhome fed the meter again and took lunch at the riverside. Amy, of course, went swimming and deserves a medal…the water was a tad cold. The rocks along this valley are full of mica (see I did learn something from that OU geology course) and glisten in the sunlight. Yes the sun was out!!
Après lunch we made our way to Sonogno (Son-non-yo) which was to be our camp for the night. And what a site. The village is, yes you’ve guessed it, stunning…no really it is look.
Sonogno Aire
The Aire is at the end of the car park and for a grand total of €16 a night we have water and dumping facilities in a beautiful Swiss valley. And the ticket covers us for use of the car parks in the valley until tomorrow at 19.00. Just a 2 minute walk to the village this Aire is really well positioned. The village has a few souvenir shops, a restaurant and cafés. There is a beautiful church looking over what I guess must be the village green.
